An Encounter with Pain
by ancientmaverick
Summary: Short little story about a mission gone wrong. Not wonderful, but could be mildly interesting.


_AN: Okay, this is a little different in style than I normally write. I just sat down and starting writing something and this is what came out. This is just a oneshot. I don't know if I will be completing this story or making it into a kind of series fic. Please feel free to review!_

o0o

The mission was a disaster from the beginning.

The M.A.L.P. had shown a peaceful countryside, full of trees and the normal Pegasus variety of plants.

It was only when they stepped away from the wormhole that they realized it.

The war was going on behind the Gate.

The shells started falling less than five seconds after they had figured out that they were in deep shit. McKay didn't have time to scream before a shell flung him fifty feet.

He wasn't moving.

Teyla had found cover, but had been hit by shrapnel. Ronon was trying to take care of her and shoot everything in sight at the same time.

This was difficult, considering blood was running into his eyes from the small crater in his forehead.

John was the only one who had remained uninjured thus far. He was trying to get to Rodney, but a bunch of guys with guns were making that difficult.

He signaled to Ronon, who got the message and started dragging Teyla around the other side of the Gate. He killed about fifty men before making it to the DHD.

John watched as he dialed Atlantis, and then waved at Ronon to head through. The Satedan followed part of his order, shoving Teyla through the Gate and then waiting to cover John's approach. John shook his head and vowed to thank the man later.

He was still about fifteen feet from Rodney when an explosion went off, and he was suddenly lying next to the scientist. He thanked every god in the Pegasus Galaxy for his good fortune and pulled his best friend onto his back.

He didn't bother with his gun. Ronon was shooting anyone who even looked at John threateningly.

He finally made it to the Gate with his burden still grasped tightly in his arms. Ronon gave him an odd look, but John ignored it and plunged through the Gate.

The Gateroom was in chaos when he emerged, and he could vaguely here Elizabeth shouting at someone to raise the shield. He figured that was a good idea.

He saw Carson heading for him, and he gently lowered Rodney to the floor. Carson was saying something to him, but he couldn't figure out what it was, so he just shrugged and gestured toward Rodney. Carson gave him a concerned look, but John was already moving away, heading up the stairs.

He needed a shower badly.

He was halfway up the stairs when he realized that something was wrong. He couldn't quite figure out what it was, so he just shrugged again and kept moving, shedding his vest as he went.

He was met by Elizabeth and Lorne at the top of the steps. Elizabeth took one look and shouted something down the steps. Lorne had taken his arm and seemed to want him to sit. He tried to tell them he was fine, but he didn't know if he said anything.

He tried to push past Lorne, but there were more hands on him now, dragging him down onto something soft. He was confused, but he was also starting to get tired, so he decided to take a short nap before the shower.

He closed his eyes.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Carson, how are they?"

"Rodney will be all right. He's got a nasty concussion, but it should clear up within a few days. Teyla and Ronon were both hit by shrapnel and have quite a few stitches between them, but they are resting comfortably and should be out of here tomorrow."

"What about John?"

"He managed to damage both eardrums, break three ribs, dislocate his shoulder and take a piece of shrapnel through his vest and straight into his spleen, kidney, stomach and liver. He shouldn't have been conscious after that, much less walking around carrying Rodney. He required three surgeries to repair the damage. He'll be here quite awhile."

John lay in the infirmary bed, listening to Carson and Elizabeth talk about his injuries. He didn't remember much about how all of that had happened. He vaguely recalled something about a shower and napping, but that didn't make much sense.

He decided to sleep on it.


End file.
